Technology and Social Media ? Got a Plan? | Faith & Tech Blog

As the folks at my church will tell you, I?m quite fond of policy documents.?Not because I like to make rules, but because having said policies can save everyone huge headaches down the road.

Generally, the most important time to have the policies at the ready is during a crisis. A good set of policies can help your church manage the crisis smoothly and with a clear sense of who is empowered to make decisions and why.

The documents are also valuable in the every day world as a way to set boundaries and controls without the setting of those boundaries being a personal affront. I?ve been that staff person, grateful to hold up a piece of paper to show a church member the policy that says my answer to their request has to be ?no.? Nothing personal ? your fellow church members made that rule months ago.

Most churches have at least a rudimentary Financial Policy document (or they?d better get started as the UM Book of Discipline requires the Finance Committee to have in place (basic sample online at http://nccumc.org/treasurer/training-materials/). You probably have a Personnel Policy document and a Facilities Usage document.

But, does your church have policies addressing technology and social media?

In a quick search, I came across several solid resources I?ll list at the bottom of this article. Generally, they all seem to address topics which cross the lines among what, depending on the size of your church, could be the jurisdictions of several committees. Just off the top of my head, that might include Finance, Staff Parish/Personnel, Trustees, Communications, Technology?..whew!

Technology-related topics to cover might include:

• Whether or not employees can consider their work email private
• Whether or not it is?acceptable?to use church email and equipment for personal use
• Definition of appropriate and inappropriate conduct on the Internet
• Management of passwords, frequency they should be changed, who should have access to them
• Ownership of technology purchases (equipment, software, data) when made using church funds (even when made for a specific individual)
• Steps required to evaluate and purchase software and equipment
• Requirement of regular backups and plan for secure storage
• Definition of what information must be kept private (such as church members? birth dates, giving records, children?s names, etc.)
• Policy regarding church-owned technology and/or information that might be taken home by staff or a church member
• Anti-virus protection and managing software updates
• Use of personal computers for church business
• Access to wireless internet and steps to ensure secure the church network
• Agreement document for outside vendors to sign when they have access to confidential data
• Steps to be taken by an employee if they become aware of someone using equipment or Internet access inappropriately
• Minors? use of church-owned technology
• Enforcement actions which the church may take if any policy is broken

Technology Policy reference tools:

Social Media Policy reference tools:

About Julie Brown

Julie Brown is a freelance web designer and writer/editor specializing in helping non-profits clarify their communications. She's a member of Fuquay-Varina UMC where she sings in a women's quartet and is the lone girl-geek on the church's Tech Team. One of her favorite things is watching people's eyes light up when they realize that technology is empowering -- not scary! This entry was posted in Email, General, Security. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://faithandtech.nccumc.net/technology-and-social-media-got-a-plan/

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